Hollywood is known for tackling sensitive issues through the art of filmmaking quite often these days, but it took a little while before they felt that America was ready to handle certain topics. Despite being top of mind because of the atrocities of World War II, there had not really been any film that tackled antisemitism in an unflinching manner. While the Academy Award winner for Best Picture from 1947, Gentleman’s Agreement, would feature it as the crux of the film, the moody crime noir Crossfire would beat it to the punch a few months earlier. Based on the 1945 novel The Brick Foxhole by Richard Brooks, the film saw director Edward Dmytryk (Murder, My Sweet) bring together an impressive ensemble including Robert Mitchum (Rachel and the Stranger), Robert Young (Father Knows Best), Robert Ryan (The Dirty Dozen) and Gloria Grahame (The Bad and The Beautiful) to tell the story of a senseless hate crime. The Hays Code prevented the film from tackling the novel’s issue of homophobia, but the change to antisemitism still rang powerful for an audience ready for change. The film was a massive hit and earned five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, and now Warner Archive has rescued this classic with a fresh new Blu-Ray presentation.
The film begins with a heated struggle shrouded in shadow. You do not know much about the confrontation, only that the unassuming Joseph Samuels (Sam Levene, After The Thin Man) has been left brutally murdered in his home. There is no obvious motive for the crime, but that does not keep Detective Finlay (Robert Young) from devoting everything he has to figuring out what happened. The prevailing theory is that the perpetrator is among a group of demobilized soldiers who were seen with Samuels earlier in the night at the bar. Finlay is only in search of the truth, but Sergeant Keeley (Robert Mitchum) is a bit concerned that some of his men will be unfairly accused of the crime and decides to do some investigating himself. Through a clever use of present-day intrigue and flashbacks, layers of the story are revealed by the soldiers including the brash Montgomery (Robert Ryan) and the equally complex Floyd (Steve Brodie, Out of the Past) and Mitchell (George Cooper, Blood on the Moon), among others. The truth behind the mystery might not be altogether shocking, but it crescendos to it quite nicely.
The film is allowed to resonate as much as it does thanks to the strong performances from all involved. Mitchum is not given a showy role here, but his trademark ease and confidence are expertly used to ground the film from becoming melodramatic. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Robert Ryan plays a very big personality in a role in which he advocated to inhabit when he was in the Marine Corp. with author Richard Brooks several years prior. Good thing he did, as his unrepentant menace garnered him a well-deserved Supporting Actor nomination. Robert Young is turning in one of his strongest performances as the detective who is determined to solve the case, but never allows himself to break from his patient demeanor. This counterbalance to the suspects across the table from him stirs their discomfort even more. Special consideration should also be paid to Gloria Grahame, who brings nuance to the role of a potential witness that other performers may have struggled to pull off as effortlessly.
Up until this point “B-pictures” were not given much respect at the Academy Awards, but even that organization could see why Crossfire was worthy of the praise it received. Dmytryk pulled off an impressive feat in his construction of this narrative along with giving it a style that complemented the story. The use of shadow throughout to conjure mystery and establish mood is executed incredibly well. Positioning this story as a mystery to usher in the larger issues that needed to be tackled at the time is a tactic that is still used to this day. The only major flag that might be raised when looking at this picture through modern eyes is the way in which an unarmed man is shot by the police while attempting to flee judgement. Guilty or not, this just does not fly. This minor quibble aside, Crossfire is a very engrossing and fascinating picture that works as both a “message movie” as well as a straightforward entertaining film noir. This is a picture that is ripe for rediscovery, so do not miss you chance to check out this forgotten gem.
Video Quality
Warner Archive presents Crossfire for the first time on Blu-Ray with 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. The resulting image is nothing short of stunning for a film that is over seventy years old. This black and white feature has nice, natural film grain throughout that provides a great amount of detail to the image. The presentation has a good amount of depth to it including in the shadows where there is no evidence of any black crush. Print damage is virtually nonexistent throughout the duration of the movie. It is always amazing to see how film preservation can bring new life to a film, and Warner Archive has saved another piece of film history with this excellent release.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray release comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that sounds simply wonderful. Robert Mitchum has a deliberately slow, cool delivery that always comes through crystal clear. As a matter of fact, none of the sound effects or the moody score from Roy Webb ever overpowers the dialogue on this release. The more kinetic sequences including the instances of gunfire are appropriately lively in the speakers. There does not appear to be any damage or age related wear to the track. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles available on the disc for those who need it. Overall, this is an excellent audio presentation that suits the material really well.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historians and Writers Alain Silver and James Ursini provide a very informative commentary track in which they discuss the film’s place in cinematic history, the political nature of the film, the stylistic elements within the construction of the film and more. There are also comments from Director Edward Dmytryk that pop up throughout the track to give further insight into the film.
- Crossfire – Hate Is Like A Gun: A nine-minute featurette that discusses the groundbreaking elements in the film, the economical filmmaking of Dmytryk, the performances in the film, the legacy of the picture and more.
Final Thoughts
Crossfire is an evocative and powerful piece of cinema that not only tackles some serious topics, but does so in a really entertaining manner. Robert Mitchum and Robert Young are two standouts in a strong array of performers. The film came by its Best Picture nomination honestly. Warner Archive has provided it with a Blu-Ray that sports a terrific A/V presentation and a couple of noteworthy special features. Those who appreciate a moody mystery should enjoy this one quite a bit. Recommended
Crossfire can be purchased directly through Warner Archive or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
